First Weekend at Bobby's
by Catsluver
Summary: Bobby wasn't so sure about this. He thought Sam and Dean were cute and they were always well behaved. John raised them with military presision, like little soldiers but Bobby knew how soldiers could be when they were on leave.


**First Weekend at Bobby's**

_…..._

_The boys were always well behaved, __b__ut Bobby knew that John wouldn't allow them to be any other way. John raised his boys with military precision, like little soldiers, and Bobby knew how soldiers could be when they were on leave. Entertaining the boys might prove harder than Bobby could imagine. __H__e could imagine a great many things, but an insightful look into the boy's lives as sons of a hunter like John __Winchester __was not like anything he'd imagined._

_~~...~_

"Bobby, I should have this wrapped up by Sunday. It's just for the weekend." John's voice was its usual cool baritone, but Bobby knew John well enough to hear the hint of desperation. "They're used to you. Hell, they love to visit Uncle Bobby's. They love you."

Bobby wasn't so sure about this. He loved John's boys, and John was a friend. They'd hunted together. Bobby smiled inwardly. He couldn't say he'd taught John all he knew, but he could take credit for a good bit of it.

Bobby did love Sammy and Dean. He thought they were cute, and John brought the boys for weekends often enough when he came to Bobby's to research his books and to pick his brain for information. The boys were always well behaved, but Bobby knew that John wouldn't allow them to be any other way. He raised them with military precision like little soldiers. Bobby knew how soldiers could be when they were on leave.

"Travis needs back up and I've never hunted a Rugaru. This is my chance to get some experience, Bobby. I'll be grateful."

"Bring the little rug rats on, then." Bobby rolled his eyes and sighed. He wished he wasn't such a push over, but there was no doubt about it, John could be very persuasive when he didn't have a stick up his ass. "I hope I don't regret this. If I do, you're gonna regret it even more than me!"

"You won't. The boys know how to behave. And Dean will look out for Sammy. He knows to take care of his brother."

"Yea, I'm sure."

…...

Friday afternoon John arrived with the boys in tow. Eight year old Sam burst out of the back of the Impala running toward Bobby.

"Uncle Bobby! We're gonna stay with you for the whole weekend, just us. We don't have to have a baby sitter. It's just us men!" Sam had clearly bought into John's hype.

Bobby dropped down on one knee so they would be at eye level and gave Sam a warm pat on the shoulder. "That's right, boy."

Dean was pulling their bags from the trunk. He didn't look quite as happy as Sam.

"Dean wants to hunt." Sam murmured, noticing Bobby's concerned look toward Dean.

"What?"

"He wants to hunt with Dad."

"He's a little young." Bobby said more to himself than to Sam.

"Don't tell him that. He's kinda pissed."

"What kind of language is that coming from an eight year old?"

Sam hung his head. "Sorry Uncle Bobby."

"And how come you know about hunting at just eight years old?"

"Dad doesn't know I know. Don't tell him." There was a touch of worry in Sam's voice. "Me and Dean would be in so much trouble!"

"Yeah? Well ain't you just a wealth of information. It's gonna be an interesting weekend."

Bobby stood up and walked over to meet John and Dean. "John?" They shook hands and clapped each other on the shoulders.

"Dean?" Bobby greeted Dean the same way and Dean's spirit's seemed to lift a little as he accepted being greeted like a man not a boy. Bobby hoped that the gesture would earn him some points. He'd never had kids and never had to deal with teenage angst. Even though Dean was only twelve, it appeared he was already a bit angsty, at least as much as John would let him get by with.

"Boys. Uncle Bobby's in charge. You better mind him just like you would mind me. I'll be back Sunday and Bobby better have good things to say about you." With that said John climbed back into the Impala and headed out to meet Travis.

Bobby turned to the boys. "I was gonna make spaghetti for supper. How does that sound?"

"Good!" the boys chimed in together as they all walked to the house. Bobby walked between the two brothers with Sam on his right. He seemed fragile and thin, a little small for his age, but Bobby knew better. His dark hair and hazel eyes made him the spitting image of John.

Bobby figured that Dean must favor his mother, although he had never met her. Dean was fair skinned with light hair and a sprinkling of freckles across his nose. The only resemblance between the boys was their hazel eyes. It seemed Dean had hit a growth spurt in the past few months, shooting up to about five foot seven Bobby reckoned, and still growing.

…...

After supper they watched _H__arry and the Henderson's__, _that Bobby had rented at the video store in town. He sat on the sofa with Sammy munching popcorn while Dean lounged in the recliner. When the movie ended, Bobby hit rewind on the VCR. "So, what did ya think?"

"That was lame." Dean jumped up and headed into the kitchen. "There's no such thing as Big Foot. Everybody knows that."

"You're Big Foot, Dean." Sam giggled. "Sasquatch! Sasquatch!"

"Stop it Midget." Dean had circled back from the kitchen to the back of the sofa where he leaned over and popped the back of Sam's head.

"Ouch!" Sam jumped over the back of the sofa tackling Dean and they were both rolling on the floor, Sam's arms flailing around Dean's head as Dean held him in a tight grip.

"Boys?" Bobby called to them from his comfortable place on the sofa. The scuffling continued. Bobby rolled his eyes heavenward. "Come here ya little idjits!" he picked up the volume this time.

"Yes sir!" the 'idjits' answered in unison as they jumped up from the floor. They came around the sofa. Sam plopped down next to Bobby and Dean lingered at the end of the sofa throwing one leg over the arm.

"Here's the deal boys. We got a lot of work to do tomorrow. Your Dad left instructions for me and it's a long list of stuff so you best get your baths and get to bed. Dean you see to your brother. And don't be splashing water all over the bathroom."

"OK, Uncle Bobby. I got it under control." Dean motioned to Sam to head up the stairs. "Let's go, Sammy, get the lead out!"

"I can take care of myself." Sam grumped at his brother. "I'm not a baby."

~~~~...~~~~~

"Rise and shine, boys." Bobby's voice bellowed up the stairwell. "Breakfast'll be ready in a few. Better get your little butts down here."

Dean sat up on the edge of the bed for just a moment before he jumped up and headed to the bathroom. Sam groaned and rolled over, catching just a few more minutes of sleep.

"Come on, Midget. Get up." Dean pulled on Sam's arm. Sam scrubbed his face in the pillow. "Stop wiping your drool all over the bed and get up, Sammy."

"If you boys don't get down here there's not gonna be any pancakes left!"

"Pancakes!" Sam bolted out of bed, slipped into his jeans and grabbed his dirty tee shirt from the floor, running for the door. When Dean entered the kitchen, Sam was already sitting with fork in hand waiting.

"Dean wouldn't get up. I had to drag him out of bed." Sam snickered at Dean who scowled back.

"Uh uh." Bobby said looking at Sam's rumpled hair and unwashed face. He looked at Dean and rolled his eyes. Dean smiled, knowing Bobby knew.

"Bobby makes the best pancakes in the world." Sam announced to the room at large.

"Glad you like them." Bobby put a couple of hot ones on Sam's plate.

"They're Bisquick, Dip stick." Dean snickered at Sam who scowled this time.

"Bisquick good enough for you, boy?" Bobby held a couple pancakes over Dean's plate waiting for his reply.

"Yeah, great."

He rounded out breakfast with sausage and scrambled eggs and after finishing everything the boys washed and dried the dishes while Bobby put everything away.

"Okay, now you boys get up stairs and make your bed." He handed them a bar rag and some 409. "You can clean the bathroom while you're up there. Here's the toilet brush."

"Ewwww." came from one of the boys. Bobby wasn't sure which one.

"Hop to it boys! I'm coming up to inspect in 15 minutes."

The boys scrambled up the stairs hoping things would get better after this chore was finished.

Dean took the lead. "I'll make the bed. You clean the toilet."

"No! I'm not cleaning the toilet! You clean the toilet." Sam's face scrunched in disgust. "I'll clean the sink."

"Make sure you brush your teeth, boys and Sammy, put on a clean shirt and run a brush through your hair too!" Bobby's voice floated up the stairs.

"A tooth brush?" Sam yelled to Bobby giggling.

"Don't be a doofus, Sammy." Dean rolled his eyes. "I got it, Uncle Bobby." Dean called back down. "Okay, you make the bed and clean the sink. I'll clean the toilet."

…...

Things got better for Dean but not so much for Sam because Bobby herded them out to the salvage yard. Sam was too young to work on cars and he didn't seem to have an interest. He mostly fetched tools and sodas. But, Dean loved cars. When Dean was too young to do anything but fetch tools he was happy learning each tool, watching how it was used. He would listen as John or Bobby explained what he was doing and why.

When John and the boys would stay at Bobby's, Dean would always make his way out to the yard checking out any new wrecks that had come in. He would listen as Bobby explained his assessment of each wreck, how it happened, what damage was done, how it could be fixed. It wasn't long before Bobby had Dean under a hood and sometimes under a car, teaching him.

"Let's see what you can do, boy." Bobby handed Dean an oil pan loaded with the tools he would need. "Sam, look in that cupboard there and bring us 6 quarts of oil." He grinned a challenge at Dean. "Can you change the oil in this Nova?"

"Yeah, you bet I can! No problem!"

Bobby watched as Dean went to work on the old Chevy Nova, rock music blaring from the radio. It felt good to share his love of cars with the kid. As Dean moved from one job to the next and the morning wore on, Bobby suddenly missed his little shadow.

"Sammy?" Bobby called out. No answer. He began looking around the yard. There were plenty of places to hide in a salvage yard. "Sammy?" Bobby's voice was louder this time. Normal concern began to seep into his mind, but being a hunter, he quickly began to think of other possibilities, not normal possibilities. "Sammy!" he yelled.

Dean rolled out from under the car he was working on. "Uncle Bobby?"

"I haven't seen Sammy lately." Bobby's swallowed hard through the growing concern. If anything happened to the boy, he never forgive himself, and John would kill him—literally kill him.

Dean looked around. He thought for a minute. Then he headed for the house. Bobby followed him as the older boy called for his brother. No response. He headed into Bobby's office. "Sammy! Answer me when I call you!"

Bobby could see the top of Sam's shaggy head from behind the desk. He walked around it to see the boy sitting back against the wall with one of Bobby's ancient books opened in his hands. Sam was mesmerized by the drawings in the book. Diagrams and symbols of ancient spells and hexes.

"This is so cool." His little hand lightly ran across the ancient yellow page.

"You're such a Nerd." Dean rolled his eyes. "You scared friggin Hell out of us."

"What kinda language is that for a 12 year old?" Bobby dropped to one knee beside Sam. He rested his hand on the boy's small shoulder. "I love books too." He looked up at Dean, "As much as I love old cars."

"I didn't mean..." Dean was suddenly contrite.

"S'ok, boy. You go back and finish what you were working on. You don't need my help. There's an old Dodge Dart out there you can work on next. See if you can get the thing running, okay?"

"Yeah, I got it covered." Dean went back to what he loved, the smell of oil and metal.

Bobby looked at Sam. "I think I'll read a while too." He gently pulled the ancient Grimoire from Sam's small hands and stood up returning it to its place on the desk. "I got a book I think you'll enjoy." He pulled a leather-bound book from the shelf and handed it to Sam.

Sam ran his hand over the decorative cover, feeling the ridges in the leather. He smiled up at Bobby. Bobby couldn't help but be warmed by the look of wonder in the child's little face. He reached up and took another leather-bound book from the shelf.

"Come on, boy." He and Sam settled on the sofa. Sam opened his book.

"_The Hobbit._ By J.R.R. Tolkien," Sam read aloud. "What's a Hobbit?"

"Read and find out." Bobby smiled down at Sam. He thought Sam could handle the book. He'd been reading since he was four. "It's about time I go back to Middle Earth for a visit myself." He opened the book he held. _The Fellowship of the Ring_.

It wasn't long before Sam was snuggled up against Bobby's side, his knees drawn up holding his book. Bobby had one arm wrapped around Sam's waist while his own book rested on his knee. Sam was in Hobbiton with Bilbo, while Bobby was in Hobbiton with Frodo, and Bobby wondered if John knew just how special his sons were.

~~~~~~...~~~~~~~

Sunday dawned a beautiful day, warm and sunny. Dean was up early dressed and headed out to the yard to plunder around in Bobby's tools. _Did that boy never tire of messing with my tools?_ Bobby watched him from the kitchen window_. At least he knows how to respect them. Me and your Daddy taught you that._ Bobby couldn't help but be a little proud of his input with Dean's love of cars and tools.

"Sam!" Bobby called up the stairs. _That one could sleep all day_. "Sammy!" He heard something hit the floor. "You Okay, boy?"

Sam heard Bobby's voice through the fog of sleep. He scrubbed his head across the pillow and rolled over. He fell in a bundle onto the floor, sheet, blanket and all.

"M'ok," he called down the stairs in a sleepy little voice. Sam made his way to the bathroom with his eyes still closed. A cold wash of the face, clean clothes, and he began to bounce his way down the stairs.

"Run a brush through that mop on your head!"

"Onnn…" Sam rolled his eyes as he turned on his heels and headed back to the bathroom. "Can we have pancakes again?"

…...

"Why not?" Bobby was wondering what he was going to do with the boys to keep them busy today.

"There's a circus in town." Bobby offered this bit of information at breakfast.

Sam swallowed a mouthful of pancakes. "We've never been to a circus." He was clearly excited.

"Well we can check it out if you want to." _Never been to a circus? Damn, John!_

It was a small circus that made the rounds in small western towns, and it was more fun than Bobby thought it would be. He bought Sam some cotton candy and Dean had chili cheese fries. Dean took Sam on the merry-go-round. Of course he stood next to Sam on the pony Sam chose to ride. He obviously considered himself too old to actually ride. Sam clung to Dean, wide eyed and giggling nervously as they rode the roller coaster while Dean whooped and screamed to the top of his lungs.

Watching the boys turned out to be a real treat for Bobby. He enjoyed it more than he'd thought he would, and the sheer joy of the two boys, he was beginning to wonder if they had anything normal in their lives. _Well, it's about time. They need more than seedy motel rooms and sitting around with old hunters._

It wasn't long before a couple of girls had found Dean and he was off riding on the Ferris wheel grinning in the middle with an arm around each one.

"Ain't he just a budding little Romeo?" Bobby said it to himself, but the ever present little Sammy ears heard it and giggled. "Guess you're hiding some big ears under all that hair, huh?" _Better watch what I say around this one._ "Let's go in the Fun House."

Suddenly Sam ducked behind Bobby, and he could feel the boy as he timidly put his trembling little hand into Bobby's and buried his face in Bobby's back.

Bobby was at a loss. _I don't know what to do with a frightened child. __H__ell, I hardly know what to do with happy child._ Bobby's mind was racing. _What's there to be afraid of at the circus anyway?_ He'd never seen either of the boys frightened like this. Bobby turned and went down on one knee to be face to face with Sam. "What is it, Sammy? What's got you all riled up?"

"That man." He peeped around Bobby and quickly moved back out of sight. "He's a monster!"

"What?" Bobby looked behind him. He sighed. "Son, that's not a monster. That's a clown."

Sam's face scrunched. "Are you sure? He looks like a monster."

"That face is painted on, Sammy. It's supposed to be funny. Although, I agree it is pitiful even for a clown. I'm not fond of clowns myself." Bobby babbled while Sam frantically shook his head.

"No." As the clown walked closer, Sam moved around to keep Bobby between him and the clown. "It's not the painted face," he whispered. "It's his other face. The one you can't see. It's the face he's hiding."

"What?" Bobby looked back at the clown who had come up to them and was bending down reaching for Sam. "Hey, man! The child's phobic. Can't you see that? Back off you dumb sonofabitch!" Bobby was in full protective mode. He still held Sam's hand and with his other arm he pushed the clown away but not before he made eye contact, and for a split second he saw the deep dark nothingness of demon eyes. "What the hell?"

Bobby's hunter instincts kicked in and he grabbed his flask of holy water, trying desperately to unscrew the top while Sam held his hand in a death grip. "Sam? Let go. Trust me, son. Let go of my hand." Sam released Bobby's hand and froze, both of his hands balled into fists and his eyes squeezed shut. Bobby got the lid off the holy water and stood, but the demon was long gone, ducking into the Big Top. "Balls!"

"Uncle Bobby?" Sam's scared little voice floated up to him and Bobby sighed. The boy was right. _How did he know that? How could he see behind the clown makeup?_

"He's gone, Sammy."

"No, Uncle Bobby, he's not. Dean? Where's Dean?"

Both Sam and Bobby looked around frantically.

"Last time I saw him was on the Ferris wheel."

Sam lifted his hands and using two fingers deftly placed in each corner of his mouth he gave out a loud, piercing whistle. There was an answering whistle, and Dean quickly appeared from the Fun House.

"Sammy, what is it?" As playful as Dean had been only moments ago, now he was focused.

_My God _ _these boys are prepared for this kind of crap!_

"I saw a monster. It looked like a clown, but it was a monster."

"Sammy?" Dean looked at Sam, then up at Bobby.

"Afraid so. We need to get you boys out of here, pronto."

"What about everybody else?" Dean questioned.

"I can't hunt a demon with a twelve year old and an eight year old in tow! What are you thinking?"

"I've got holy water and a copy of the exorcism." Dean was deadly serious. He turned to his little brother. "Sammy, I got ya. Don't be scared. Just stay with me. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." He looked back up at Bobby expectantly.

_Kid ha__s__ a point. There __i__s everybody else to consider. This is crazy._

Bobby pointed to the Big Top. "He went in there. Let's go in with holy water and see if we can isolate him."

_I must be out of my mind!_

"Maybe there's someplace Sammy could go. He's too young for this."

_Hell, Dean's too young for this!_

"The car maybe? We could lock him in the car."

_I should lock you both in the car._

Dean thought for a minute. "No, I gotta watch out for him. I gotta keep him with me." Sam had moved from behind Bobby and was now glued to Dean's side frantically nodding in agreement with him.

Bobby looked at the boys. He heaved a sigh that came from the bottom of his gut.

_Damn! This is a bad idea!_

"Okay. We go in together. We stay together." Bobby fixed Dean's eyes in a no nonsense glare. "You got that, boy? We stay together." Dean nodded.

"Sammy, calm down. You gotta be brave, just like Dad taught us." Dean was forehead to forehead with his little brother. "We're gonna run this just like a drill, got it?" Sam nodded. "You stay with me but you can't cling to me or I can't move, Okay?"

Sam stepped back and gave Dean a little room. He pulled in a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "Here's some holy water. You know what to do." Dean took two flasks out of his jacket handing one to Sam. Then he pulled out a butterfly knife and handed it to his little brother. "You know the drill'" he repeated. "You know what to do."

_God's Balls! These are kids. They're preparing themselves for battle! Hell, I'm not even sure they need me!_

Bobby swallowed hard as Dean looked at him ready for orders.

_Guess they do need me._

"There's bound to be several clowns in there. I know what he looks like and Sam knows what he looks like, so Dean you'll have to follow my lead. Let's try to isolate him away from everybody and then do the exorcism. The holy water will only last moments at the time, so we'll have to be quick."

_I can't believe I'm doing this._

They headed toward the Big Top. Inside, the elephants were in the ring. There were only two and the trainers were riding them around the circle. Sparkling costumes and smiling faces, one stood atop the bigger elephant his arms stretched out in a dramatic pose. The loud circus music added to the drama and put the audience in a festive mood. They were all smiling and admiring the glitter and fantasy of the show, but like Bobby, Dean and Sam were focused on looking for the clown, the demon clown. Neither of the boys had time to admire the show. Neither even thought of it.

There were six clowns in the tent. Bobby did a quick once over but didn't recognize any as the demon clown. He looked at Dean, rolling his eyes and giving a small shrug. Dean touched Sam's shoulder, looking at him. Sam shook his head. Dean could see panic beginning to rise in Sam's eyes. He touched his forehead to Sam's "Focus… just like a drill." Sam calmed and one hand tightened on the flask while the other patted the pocket holding his butterfly knife.

Bobby motioned for them to go behind the Grand Stand. They went single file with Sam in the middle. Bobby made his way around to the entrance for the carnie's and did a quick look. Sam was on his heels doing a look around of his own, as a large white gloved clown hand reached around behind Bobby and grabbed Sam, pulling him through the stage entrance. All Bobby heard was a loud gasp.

Dean dived into the entrance behind Sam. Bobby was next behind Dean. The demon Clown had slung Sam across his shoulder and Sam was struggling to unscrew the flask of Holy Water. Suddenly he screamed. "Fire…Fire…"

Dean immediately picked up the call. "Fire… Fire…"

The Big Top erupted in pandemonium. A voice came over the loud speaker asking the crowd to remain calm and exit quietly. All Bobby could see was little Sam bouncing on the shoulder of the demon clown as he ran behind them. Dean was beside him as he drew his pistol, but he couldn't shoot for fear of hitting Sam so he stuffed it back in his pocket.

Finally, Sam got the top off the holy water and splashed some on the back of the demon's neck. It buckled in agony, dropping Sam to the ground, grabbing at its neck. Within moments it was recovered and bending down face to face with Sam. It's grotesque painted face hovering above him. Within the painted face Sam saw the demon bare its teeth in a snarl and the empty black eyes as they pierced through him. Sam swallowed hard and splashed Holy Water across its face. The demon clown screamed in pain.

Dean sprinted ahead of Bobby to reach Sam. Coming up behind the demon, he jumped on its back and poured more Holy Water down the costume.

Bobby caught up to the boys quickly and began the exorcism from memory. "Exorcizamus te, omnimundus. Spiritus, omnis satanica potestas."

The demon began to choke and sputter.

"Omnis incursion infernalis adversii."

It roared and bucked back throwing Dean to the ground and lunging toward him.

"Omnis congregation. Et secta diabolica."

Dean met the demon with his Bowie knife, slashing across its face. Sam had pulled out his butterfly knife and jumping on its back he slashed across the neck quickly following with another splash of holy water. Dean aimed his flask at the face and splashed again. The demon seized and fell crouching to the ground.

"Ergo, graco maledicte. Ecclesiam tuam secure tibi facias libertate servire. Te rogamus. Audi nos."

The clown flopped over onto his back while black smoke billowed out of his mouth. It trailed up into the sky and was gone.

The clown sputtered and gasped. He sat up leaning to one side confused and looking to Bobby for answers. "What… what happened. I think I…" He caught Sam's wide eyed stare. "Oh, son… I'm sorry. I didn't…" Sam slid behind Dean clinging to him and hiding his face. This was his first encounter with a demon and the first time he'd seen a clown in person.

"Dean, you take Sam to the car. I'll be there in a few minutes." Bobby helped the poor clown to his feet. "Have you ever heard of demon possession?"

~~~~~~~...~~~~~~~

Later at Bobby's the boys were pacing. They were obviously upset and unable to settle.

_I need to do a debriefing with a couple of kids. This is so unreal._

Bobby was still struggling with the fact that the boys even knew monsters were real much less how to fight them, and he wondered if they'd even needed him. He suspected that the two young Winchesters could have recited the exorcism from memory. One thing he did know. The boys needed to talk and he was the only one here.

_Where the hell is John when they need him? Guess I'll have to do._

"You boys know what happened back there?"

"Yeah," Dean answered. "Demon came after Sammy but we kicked its ass."

"Language, son. Never mind. You know what? You're right. We did kick its ass. Your Dad will be proud."

"No. He won't." Sam's small voice trembled. "He's gonna be pissed! We shouldn't have gone to the circus. Places like that are dangerous."

"What?" Bobby was shocked. "Every kid needs to go to the circus at least once!"

"Not us." Dean agreed with Sam. "Sammy's right. It's dangerous. Dad's right. Look what happened."

"We better not tell him," Sam said.

"Not tell him? I can't just not tell him something like this."

"You don't understand." Dean voice was soft, sad and very serious. "I should have known better. If Dad finds out, it'll be on me. It's my fault."

"What?" Bobby's mind was racing. He didn't want to know the price these two boys paid to be Winchesters.

"Uncle Bobby, please don't tell Dad." Sam was on the verge of tears.

"Okay." Bobby wondered what the hell John would do to them if he knew. He didn't want to know how John trained his little soldiers. And he knew that he would never look at John or the boys the same way. "Well, let's talk about what happened before he gets here. You boys need a debriefing."

As they talked, Bobby got more insight into the boys training. John had taught them to defend themselves and that training had saved Sam's life today, probably other lives as well. The boys were already hunters.

Later, Bobby gave Dean his number. "Keep this safe, boy. And you call me anytime you need me. You understand? Memorize it and make Sammy memorize it too."

"Thanks, Uncle Bobby." Dean read the number, then handed to paper to Sam.

When John made it home, it was late. He was exhausted. Bobby could tell it had been a rough hunt. When the boys ran out to meet him, Sam grabbed him around his legs in an eight year old bear hug. "Dad!" he yelled as John ruffled his hair and smiled. He reached out and patted Dean on the arm. "Hey, son. S'good to be back." They walked into the house. "I can't thank you enough, Bobby."

He poured John a drink. "You look like Hell! You and the boys stay here for a couple days if you need to. We had a great weekend. They can stay with me anytime."

"Good I'm glad they were no trouble." He downed the drink. "Thanks. Mostly, I need a shower and a bed."

"You got both."

…...

Later that night as Bobby sat reading at his desk. John and the boys had gone to bed but apparently, Sam had slipped back downstairs. His little face peeked around the corner, tousled brown locks curling in his eyes as he stood at Bobby's office door waiting to be noticed.

"I see you, boy. Come on in." Sam came up to Bobby and leaned on his knee.

"I was thinking…" Sam's big hazel eyes gazed up at him, waiting for Bobby to ask.

"Yeah?"

"Bilbo fought monsters even though he was scared of them. And he was little."

"That's right, he did."

"But Bilbo and those monsters aren't real." Sam began idly swinging back and forth as he lazed across his uncle's knee. Bobby couldn't help but feel a warm burn around his heart that Sam was so totally at ease with him.

"That's right. They're not. It's just a story."

Sam's thin arms poked out of his sleep shirt and he ran graceful little hands through his hair, deep in thought. "But Dad fights real monsters and the monster at the circus today was real."

"Yeah, sure was." Bobby watched in amazement as Sam worked out his thoughts… ran through the events of the day logically. His child's mind was clearly doing his own debriefing, breaking it all down in a way he could understand it.

"I was scared." Big soft eyes gazing back up at Bobby through too long tangled hair. "Dad wouldn't be scared. Dean and you weren't scared."

"Sammy," Bobby sighed. "We're all scared, but we just learn to go ahead and fight anyway, even when we're scared. You did a fine job today. Nobody could have been braver."

"Was I kinda like Bilbo?"

"Yeah, I guess you were." Sam thought about it for a moment, his soft hazel eyes far away as he bit down what little he had left of his fingernails.

"Don't tell Dean. He'll start calling me a Hobbit." He scrunched up his little nose. "Midget's bad enough." Sam gave a little sigh. "I hate being little. I want to be tall, like Dean and Dad and you." He was still rocking Bobby's leg back and forth and Bobby patted his big hand on Sam small back.

"I'm sure you'll hit a growth spurt when you're about Dean's age. You never know, you may grow up to be as tall as your Dad."

Sam smiled broadly, his dimples out in full force. "Do you think so?" he asked hopefully.

_Fin_


End file.
